Golf Club With Durable Ferrule

ABSTRACT

A golf club has a ferrule that includes an inner sleeve made of environmentally friendly high friction silicone rubber and fitted around the shaft, and an outer sleeve fitted around the inner sleeve and having a through hole. Preferably, the through hole is stepped. The inner sleeve is limited within a large hole section of the through hole by an annular shoulder face and the engaging elements in order to prevent separation of the inner and outer sleeves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a golf club, more particularly to a golf club having a ferrule disposed at a junction of a golf club head and a shaft.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a golf club disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Publication Number 540402 includes a shaft 11, a ferrule 12 sleeved on the shaft 11, and a head body 13 coupled to the shaft 11 and the ferrule 12. The shaft 11, the ferrule 12 and the head body 13 are all made of metal so that the golf club possesses a relatively high strength. However, since impact shock induced by hitting a golf ball is transmitted from the head body 13 to the metallic ferrule 12 and then the shaft 11 without attenuation, a golfer may experience substantial discomfort.

In order to alleviate the problem of discomfort, the prior art suggests a golf club which includes a ferrule 12′ as shown in FIG. 2. The ferrule 12′ includes an inner sleeve 121 made of a shock-absorbing rubber and sleeved on the shaft 11, and an outer sleeve 122 enclosing the shock-absorbing rubber. Since the shock absorbing rubber disposed between the shaft 11 and the head body 13 can absorb impact shock generated upon hitting a ball, discomfort experienced by the golfer can be reduced.

Nevertheless, through experiments, the inventor of this application found that the outer sleeve 122 is prone to rupture after repeated impacts because of the deformation of the shaft 11 and the shock-absorbing rubber caused by the torque generated when a ball is hit, resulting in separation of the outer sleeve 122 and the inner sleeve 121 and affecting the appearance of the golf club.

To address the problem of rupture, AB resin is used as a shock absorber to make the inner sleeve 121. However, the AB resin is liable to be squeezed out of the outer sleeve 122 when subjected to impact shock, thereby reducing the shock-absorbing effect and even affecting adversely the coupling strength between the shaft 11 and the head body 13.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a golf club with a durable shock absorbing ferrule.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a golf club of this invention includes a head body having a hosel, a shaft inserted into the hosel, and a ferrule that includes an inner sleeve made of a rubber material and fitted around the shaft, and that includes an outer sleeve fitted around the inner sleeve and having a bottom end abutting against the hosel, a top end disposed above the bottom end, a stepped through hole extending through the bottom and top ends and receiving the inner sleeve, and an annular shoulder face formed between the bottom and top ends. The through hole has a large hole section between the annular shoulder face and the bottom end, and a small hole section between the annular shoulder face and the top end. The inner sleeve is received in the large hole section and abuts against the annular shoulder face.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a golf club comprises: a head body having a hosel; a shaft inserted into the hosel; and a ferrule including an inner sleeve made of silicone rubber and fitted around the shaft, and an outer sleeve fitted around the inner sleeve, and having a bottom end abutting against the hosel, a top end disposed above the bottom end, and a through hole extending through the bottom and top ends and receiving the inner sleeve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional golf club disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 540402;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of another conventional golf club;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a ferrule of a golf club according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the golf club having the ferrule shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a golf club with a ferrule according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying preferred embodiment, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first preferred embodiment of a golf club according to the present invention is shown to include a head body 31 having a hosel 310, a shaft 32 inserted into the hosel 310, and a ferrule 2 that includes an inner sleeve 21 made of silicone rubber and fitted around the shaft 32, and that includes an outer sleeve 22 fitted around the inner sleeve 21.

The outer sleeve 22 has a bottom end 221 abutting against the hosel 310, a top end 222 disposed above the bottom end 221, a stepped through hole 223 extending through the bottom and top ends 221, 222 and receiving the inner sleeve 21, and an annular shoulder face 226 formed between the bottom and top ends 221, 222. The through hole 223 has a large hole section 225 between the annular shoulder face 226 and the bottom end 221, and a small hole section 224 between the annular shoulder face 226 and the top end 222. The inner sleeve 21 is received in the large hole section 225 and abuts against the annular shoulder face 226.

The outer sleeve 22 is made of plastic material and tapers from the bottom end 221 to the top end 222 so that the width (L1) of the cross section of the bottom end 221 is larger than the width (L2) of the cross section of the top end 222 of the outer sleeve 22. The outer sleeve 22 further has a first engaging element 232 disposed at the bottom end 221, and the inner sleeve 21 has a second engaging element 231 mating with the first engaging element 232. Accordingly, the inner sleeve 21 is retained within the large hole section 225, and is in spatial communication with the small hole section 224. Preferably, the first engaging element 232 is an annular protrusion extending into the large hole section 225 from the bottom end 221, whereas the second engaging element 231 is an annular recess mating with the annular protrusion of the first engaging element 232.

As shown in FIG. 4, the shaft 32 extends through the small hole section 224 and the inner sleeve 21 and is fitted in the head body 31. Since the inner sleeve 21 is made of silicone rubber that has a relatively high friction coefficient and since the inner sleeve 21 is confined in the large hole section 225 by virtue of the annular shoulder face 226 and the first and second engaging elements 231, 232, the inner sleeve 21 can be prevented from squeezing out from or sliding relative to the outer sleeve 22. Therefore, the shock-absorbing effect of the ferrule 2 is ensured, and the overall service life is significantly increased.

Referring to FIG. 5, the second preferred embodiment of this invention is generally identical to the first preferred embodiment, and only differs in that, the inner sleeve 21 further has an extension 212 that extends into the hosel 310 from the bottom end 221 of the outer sleeve 22, and third engaging elements 233 formed in the extension 212 and mating with an inner surface of the hosel 310. Preferably, the third engaging elements 233 are annular recesses, and the inner surface of the hosel 310 has annular protrusions 311 mating with the annular recesses of the third engaging elements 233. Due to the provision of the extension 212 of the inner sleeve 21 that engages the hosel 310, the connection between the shaft 32 and the hosel 310 is strengthened, and the shock-absorbing effect is increased in this embodiment.

In sum, this invention utilizes the inner sleeve 21 made of silicone rubber which is environmentally friendly and which has a relatively high friction coefficient for retention of the inner sleeve 21 within the outer sleeve 22. The inner sleeve 21 is limited within the large hole section by virtue of the annular shoulder face 226 and the first and second engaging elements 231, 232 in order to prevent relative sliding movements between the inner and outer sleeves 21, 22, thereby avoiding separation of the inner and outer sleeves 21, 22. The overall service life of the golf club is thus increased.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. A golf club, comprising: a head body having a hosel; a shaft inserted into said hosel; and a ferrule including an inner sleeve made of a rubber material and fitted around said shaft, and an outer sleeve fitted around said inner sleeve and having a bottom end abutting against said hosel, a top end disposed above said bottom end, a stepped through hole extending through said bottom and top ends and receiving said inner sleeve, and an annular shoulder face formed between said bottom and top ends, said through hole having a large hole section between said annular shoulder face and said bottom end, and a small hole section between said annular shoulder face and said top end, said inner sleeve being received in said large hole section and abutting against said annular shoulder face.
 2. The golf club of claim 1, wherein said outer sleeve further has a first engaging element disposed at said bottom end, said inner sleeve having a second engaging element mating with said first engaging element.
 3. The golf club of claim 2, wherein said first engaging element is an annular protrusion extending into said large hole section from said bottom end, said second engaging element being an annular recess mating with said annular protrusion.
 4. The golf club of claim 2, wherein said inner sleeve further has an extension that extends into said hosel from said bottom end of said outer sleeve.
 5. The golf club of claim 4, wherein said inner sleeve further has a third engaging element formed in said extension and mating with an inner surface of said hosel.
 6. The golf club of claim 5, wherein said third engaging element is an annular recess, said inner surface of said hosel having an annular protrusion mating with said annular recess.
 7. The golf club of claim 1, wherein said outer sleeve tapers from said bottom end to said top end.
 8. The golf club of claim 1, wherein said outer sleeve is made of a plastic material.
 9. A golf club, comprising: a head body having a hosel; a shaft inserted into said hosel; and a ferrule including an inner sleeve made of silicone rubber and fitted around said shaft, and an outer sleeve fitted around said inner sleeve and having a bottom end abutting against said hosel, a top end disposed above said bottom end, and a through hole extending through said bottom and top ends and receiving said inner sleeve.
 10. The golf club of claim 9, wherein said outer sleeve further has an annular shoulder face formed between said bottom and top ends, said through hole having a large hole section between said annular shoulder face and said bottom end, and a small hole section between said annular shoulder face and said top end, said inner sleeve being received in said large hole section and abutting against said annular shoulder face.
 11. The golf club of claim 10, wherein said outer sleeve further has a first engaging element disposed at said bottom end, said inner sleeve having a second engaging element mating with said first engaging element.
 12. The golf club of claim 11, wherein said first engaging element is an annular protrusion extending into said large hole section from said bottom end, said second engaging element being an annular recess mating with said annular protrusion.
 13. The golf club of claim 11, wherein said inner sleeve further has an extension that extends into said hosel from said bottom end of said outer sleeve.
 14. The golf club of claim 13, wherein said inner sleeve further has a third engaging element formed in said extension and mating with an inner surface of said hosel.
 15. The golf club of claim 14, wherein said third engaging element is an annular recess, said inner surface of said hosel having an annular protrusion mating with said annular recess. 